The Richards Gallery | 2026 Exhibition Calendar
Instrumental in founding the Fine Art Department at Bard College, and a professor there for 36 years, Harvey Fite was a champion of young artists. Our gallery, housed in the Quarryman’s Museum, was established in 2004 by Tad and Pat Richards, and aims to continue fostering Harvey’s legacy by amplifying local artists. In 2025, Opus 40 was delighted to dedicate the gallery in honor of Tad & Pat Richards, for their service to Opus 40 over their three decade tenure.
For our 2026 season, Opus 40 is thrilled to continue our partnership with Cross Contemporary Art Projects and curator Jen Dragon to bring a variety of exciting shows to our gallery, making a point of including artists in each show that have a connection to Harvey Fite, Opus 40 or Upstate New York.
SELDOM SEEN II | Historic Works by Woodstock Artists
10 September – 8 November, 2026
This exhibition presents artwork from the collection of Woodstock resident, and Opus 40 Board Member, John Cederquist. John has gone back into the vault for a new selection of works, most never exhibited publicly until now. These historic artworks were acquired over the course of decades by three generations of the owner’s family, close friends of Harvey and Barbara Fite, and members of the social circle who frequented Opus 40 as a private residence. This show will feature works including: Dorothy Andrews, Robert Angeloch, Marianne Appel, Anton Refregier, Konrad Cramer, Emil Ganso, Peggy Bacon, John Nathaniel Fenton, Ernest Fiene, Henry Turney McKnight, August Schnitzler and Frances Serber.
Reception September 13, 3pm -5pm
Shown here: “Opus 40” a tribute to Harvey Fite, by Anton Refregier
CAROLYNNE WHITEFEATHER | EDGES
6 August – 7 September, 2026
Carolÿnne Whitefeather engages the oral traditions and natural surroundings of her youth, immersed among Seminole elders and descendants of European and First Peoples. Inspired by her deep cultural connection to nature, Whitefeather’s work in Edges engages with water imagery and color pigments while merging technology and handwork to create multidimensional works on paper and glass. A printmaker, painter, and photographer, Whitefeather pioneered the water-based, non-toxic, and archival printmaking processes that revolutionized the traditional fine arts print shop. Starting in 2026, the Women’s Studio Workshop offers an annual scholarship in her name for regional artists to attend a month-long residency honoring the artist’s significant and innovative contributions to printmaking.
Artist’s Reception: Sunday, August 9, 2pm-5pm
Special Events Related to this show:
Don’t miss your chance to win an original piece by Carolynne Whitefeather! Enter the raffle here!
Conversation between artist Carolynne Whitefeather and Independent Indigenous Consultant, Heather Bruegl, August 9, 3pm-4pm
Join Heather in conversation with Carolynne as they discuss the connections between art and land and how Indigenity plays a role in telling a full story. Heather Bruegl is a citizen of the Onedia Nation of Wisconsin and a first line descendent Stockbrige-Munsee and is a public historian, curator, author, and lecturer. Her work centers on the intersection of history, art, and public memory.
And Special Event for Members: A Workshop with Carolynne Whitefeather, August 9, 11:30am-1pm Tickets are limited and must be booked in advance – purchase here.
A focused, hands-on session exploring form, texture, and the lines where materials meet. Together, we’ll look closely at how edges shape what we see and feel, in our work, in our water, and in the landscape of Opus 40.
Shown here:
ee wai earth water 14, 2016
Unretouched Digital Colour Photography
Canon Archival Inks and Papers 23 x 23 in
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GROUP SHOW | VERTEX
26 June – 2 August
In geometry, a vertex is the meeting place of edges and the origin of the third dimension. The optical illusion created by this junction convinces the viewer that what they see really exists. Because of this three-dimensional illusion, the paintings by Ginnie Gardiner, Whitney Hagen, Susanna Ronner, Lynne Tobin, and Kati Vilim are intrinsically deceptive. The arrangement of color, form, and line presents a believable reality that is defied by the flat surface on which it is painted, fooling the viewer! The sculptors, Osi Audu and Alex Kveton, contend with solid shapes and forms. Their art directly and deliberately challenges the intangible and their forms engage the invisible spaces carved out by their work.
It is in the edges of these compelling artworks, the vertices where these painted and sculpted edges meet, that the visual effects of space begin.
In Vertex, the artists independently create a balancing act between the physical and the perceived. The ever-shifting planes in these artworks finds their equilibrium only at the painted edge or the welded joint. Like the intricate vertices of paper origami, each artist folds space, and from this intricate work, a new dimension emerges.
Artist’s Reception Sunday, June 28, 2pm-4pm
Shown here: Osi Audu, Self-Portrait with a Yoruba Hairstyle
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NANCY AZARA + DARLA BJORK | A Shared Legacy
15 May – June 21, 2026
An exhibition featuring the sculptures, paintings, and prints of the late feminist artist Nancy Azara (1930-2024), and encaustic paintings by her widow, Darla Bjork. Although their artworks were inspired by different sources (Azara explored matriarchal archetypes while Björk mines the psyche), both artists are neo-expressionists and emphasize the power of the gesture in their mark-making. Together for over 40 years, Nancy Azara and Darla Bjork were a couple during a transitional time in American history, from a barely tolerated union in the 80s through an official recognition of their relationship in 2011, when gay marriage finally became legal in New York State. The artists were both part of the New York Feminist Art Institute, an organization that grew out of the 1970s feminist movement and offered art and writing classes taught by women for women.
Artist’s Reception Saturday May 30, 2026 3pm – 5pm
Shown here: Red Twins, 2016 – Nancy Azara
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ANNE LEITH | Land Escape
5 April – 10 May, 2026
A solo exhibition of paintings and works on paper by Saugerties artist, Anne Leith. With her oil paints, easel, and large boards, Anne Leith ventures into the woodlands of the Hudson Valley to capture the transient light reflecting off water and filtering through tree branches. Inspired by the forest, waterfalls, clouds, and streams of the Hudson Valley and Catskills region, Leith responds to nature’s rhythms with vibrant pigments and gestural brushwork.
Artist’s Reception Sunday, April 12, from 3pm – 5pm
Shown here, Meadow, 2025.
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